The narrative
Haitian Immigration: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
examines the role of Catholicism in the segment
"The Haitian Influence on Religion."
Using the narrative as a springboard, an individual teacher, subject department or team, or the entire school will organize African and American, a celebration of African immigration and migration.
November 3rd is the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, the only saint of African descent in the hemisphere recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. It may be as appropriate a day around which to organize activities as St. Patrick's Day, which has been transformed from a Catholic holy day into a popular celebration of ethnicity. Students, teachers, and the community will explore African cultural remnants from the era of the slave trade, as well as vibrant cultural traditions of contemporary immigrants of African origin. Foods, music, arts, crafts, and folkways may be explored and shared by students who conduct research and/or by inviting members of the community to share such traditions.

This lesson is designed for use with the narrative Haitian Immigration: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Students will use the site maps and other resources to investigate the profound influence Haiti's population has had on the politics, people, and culture of present day Louisiana.

After reading the narrative Haitian Immigration: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, students will discuss the changes in the legal, social, and political status of African Americans and those of mixed ethnicity, considering these questions: What were the lines of division? How could they expect to be treated? Students then will read the short story The Quadroons by Lydia Maria Child. With guiding questions that use quotes from the story, students will correlate the information from the narrative and the personal voice from the story to create a well-rounded picture of the plight of those from mixed backgrounds.

In the beginning, New Orleans social structure under French and Spanish rule consisted of a three-caste system. By 1830, the Louisiana lawmakers created some of the harshest slave codes in the American South, leading to a new two-caste system. Students will look at how these new codes affected African Americans.